Application integration

ABSTRACT

One embodiment of a method of integrating software applications includes customizing properties of an InfoVista application to accept a format of login strings provided by a SiteMinder application; modifying authentication information in properties of the InfoVista application to match authentication information that is to be sent from the SiteMinder application; and customizing the SiteMinder application to pass authentication information needed by the InfoVista application for login of a user into the InfoVista application using a single sign-on interface provided by the SiteMinder application. Other methods and systems are also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to copending U.S. provisionalapplication entitled, “Authentication Integration,” having Ser. No.60/820,412, filed Jul. 26, 2006, which is entirely incorporated hereinby reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is generally related to software integration.

BACKGROUND

InfoVista® is a leader in Service-Centric Performance Managementsoftware and assures the optimal delivery of business-criticalinformation technology (IT) services. InfoVista applications can beintegrated with other management systems to leverage existing tools andprocesses, in order to resolve network service level issues.

SiteMinder® is another software application, and it enables operatorsand administrators to assign authentication schemes, define and manageauthorization privileges to specific resources, and create rules andpolicies to implement these authorization permissions. With theSiteMinder application, companies can implement security policies tocompletely protect the content for an entire Web site. Integration ofthe SiteMinder application with the InfoVista application has provedtroublesome.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods ofintegrating software applications. One embodiment of such a methodincludes customizing properties of an InfoVista® application to accept aformat of login strings provided by a SiteMinder® application;

modifying authentication information in properties of the InfoVistaapplication to match authentication information that is to be sent fromthe SiteMinder application; and customizing the SiteMinder applicationto pass authentication information needed by the InfoVista applicationfor login of a user into the InfoVista application using a singlesign-on interface provided by the SiteMinder application.

Briefly described, one embodiment of a system of integrating softwareapplications includes a first component configured to customizeproperties of an InfoVista application to accept format of login stringsprovided by a SiteMinder application. The system further includes asecond component configured to modify authentication information ofproperties of the InfoVista application to match authenticationinformation that is to be sent from the SiteMinder application and athird component configured to customize the SiteMinder application topass authentication information needed by the InfoVista application forlogin of a user into the InfoVista application using a single sign-oninterface provided by the SiteMinder application.

Other systems, methods, and/or computer program products according toembodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponreview of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, and/or computerprogram products be included within this description, be within thescope of the present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanyingclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of network infrastructure inaccordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a screenshot of an exemplary sign-on interface for anInfoVista application® from the infrastructure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a screenshot of an exemplary single sign-on interface for aSiteMinder® application from the infrastructure of FIG. 1 when a userattempts to access the InfoVista application.

FIG. 4 is a screenshot of an InfoVista interface which is presented to auser after a user signs on using the single sign-on interface of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a screenshot of an exemplary interface to the SiteMinderapplication of FIG. 1 showing a page used to configure settings andparameters of the SiteMinder application.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a properties file of the InfoVista applicationmatching the settings shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart diagram of one embodiment, among others, of amethod of integrating software applications in accordance with thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of one embodiment, among others, of aclient-server environment, such as the World Wide Web (the Web), inwhich the network infrastructure of FIG. 1 may be facilitated.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a computer system representing an exemplaryserver which may be utilized in the infrastructure of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

InfoVista®, distributed by INFOVISTA corporation of Les Ulis, France, isa leader in Service-Centric Performance Management software and assuresthe optimal delivery of business-critical information technology (IT)services. As an application, InfoVista collects statistics on networkdevices like routers and switches, and it stores that information in adatabase which allows a user to view past or historical information, gettrending and performance information on the network devices, etc. It maybe regarded as a capacity performance management tool for network gear.It also may be used for service level agreement type of uses. Forinstance, different kinds of information may be collected to prove thata department is providing the customer the proper agreement standard.Generally, the InfoVista application enables IT managers to detect,isolate and resolve network service level problems with its views of theperformance of connections and components throughout the entire networkinfrastructure.

In one embodiment, among others, network infrastructure comprises anenterprise network 102 having a Web server 104. Web server 104 hosts anagent application 122 for the SiteMinder® suite of applications,distributed by CA Corporation of Islandia, N.Y. The suite ofapplications may be bundled together as a package and capable ofinteracting with each other. For example, a server 106 may hostadditional SiteMinder applications, such as a single sign-on tool 125and a policy server application 127. The policy server 127 may accessdatabases or user stores 130. An InfoVista application 110 is alsohosted by a server 106. A user at a client 108 having a web browser 140may access applications hosted by servers on the network 102.

InfoVista 110 (FIG. 1) can be integrated with other management systemsto leverage existing tools and processes, in order to resolve networkservice level issues. The flexibility, scalability and openness ofInfoVista products provide an efficient environment to give any ITdecision maker the necessary visibility to leverage IT infrastructure tocompetitive advantage. A corporation may use InfoVista 110 for capacityand performance management of the network elements.

SiteMinder application 120 (FIG. 1) is another software application andit enables operators and administrators to assign authenticationschemes, define and manage authorization privileges to specificresources, and create rules and policies to implement theseauthorization permissions.

With SiteMinder, companies can implement security policies to completelyprotect the content for an entire web site.

SiteMinder single sign-on (SSO) 125 is an authentication tool, as partof the suite of SiteMinder components, that may be integrated withinother tools to have a single point of authentication within acorporation. For example, SiteMinder application 120 can implement arule of how long a password can remain in effect before it has to bechanged, rules regarding passwords, such as a password having to containa capital letter, a special character, be so many digits long, etc. Insome versions, SiteMinder application 120 provides web access managementsolutions. Web access management solutions are employed by organizationsto manage and enforce authentication, authorization, and single sign-onfor web resources such as JSP (Java Server Page) files, ASP (ActiveServer Page) files, or HTML (hypertext markup language) files.

For comparison purposes, FIG. 2 shows a sign-on interface 210 theInfoVista application 110 uses to authenticate the user, if SiteMindersingle sign-on 125 is not integrated with InfoVista 110. When using theInfoVista application sign-on interface 210, password management andmaintenance is maintained by InfoVista application support. Acorporation's security standards may not then be met by the InfoVistaauthentication standards which can make the InfoVista application 110more vulnerable to unauthorized access.

In contrast, FIG. 3 shows a single sign-on interface the user receiveswhen connecting to the InfoVista application 110 if SiteMinder singlesign-on 125 is integrated with InfoVista 110, in one embodiment. And,FIG. 4 is the screen or interface a user receives after he/she signs onwith single sign-on 125 or a user signs on using the SiteMinderapplication authentication. In one embodiment, SiteMinder single sign-ontool 125 helps eliminate multiple password issues and dangerous passwordpractices while simplifying the end-user experience and enhancingsecurity via identity-based access technology. This solution providesflexible authentication, directory independence, session management,kiosk support, password management and attribute-basedentitlements—helping operational costs to be reduced, employeeproductivity to be improved, and regulatory compliance to be achieved.

Within one embodiment of the SiteMinder framework, represented in FIG.1, the SiteMinder application 120 comprises two primary components, theSiteMinder policy server 122, and the SiteMinder agents 127. TheSiteMinder policy server 122 provides policy management, authentication,authorization, and accounting services to web-based applications.

SiteMinder application 120 is a leading directory-enabled accessmanagement system for building and managing secure e-business sites.

A SiteMinder web agent 122 intercepts request to protected resources anddetermines whether are not the resource is protected by the SiteMinderpolicy server 127. User identities are managed in an enterprise-widelogical repository, user information is actually stored in several userdirectories using a mix of technologies like RDBMS (Relational DatabaseManagement System), LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol). Anyaccess to protected resources is secured using centralized accesspolicies based on user-identities and roles. These policies are definedin the SiteMinder policy server 127. For instance, an access policy maystate that users must have certain roles in order to be authorized toaccess an application.

Enterprise applications with different user interfaces are oftenexistent in an enterprise network 102. Although the content of theseapplications conform to a set of specifications, the user-interfaces areunique to each other. Providing a common user interface to differentapplications that results in a seamless presentation of the content inits uses, activities, and interactions is an aspect of SSOimplementation.

Enterprise applications, such as InfoVista 110, are interfaced with theSiteMinder single sign-on tool 125 through SiteMinder agents 122 byexchanging user information. The agent 122 authenticates this userinformation against a SiteMinder policy. Once the authentication isdone, access to all the applications in the domain may be established.If a corporation has implemented the SiteMinder application 120 toprotect company web resources, authentication can be configured torequire only that users authenticate through the SiteMinder application120, after which they will not be required to present credentials againwhen logging in to other applications.

The SiteMinder policy server 127 has knowledge of both user identitiesand applications. It interfaces with the enterprise's multiple userdirectories. Information about a single user may be contained in severaluser stores that need to be queried to extract relevant user data. Aspreviously mentioned, security enforcement is provided by agents 122that intercept requests to any protected resource. Users can beauthenticated against a specific user store 130 and authorized againstanother user store configured with the policy server 127, thusleveraging existing user information wherever it is available across thearchitecture. Web service containers host web services on industryspecific platforms such as J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition)technology.

The policy server 127 manages and enforces access control policies thatdefine the operations that are allowed for each protected resource.SiteMinder application 120 can protect URL's (uniform resource locators)via its web-agents, J2EE resources via its application server agents orany string resource via its API (application program interface). Inaddition, rules may be constrained by time, to prevent access outsidespecified periods, or by specific IP addresses. The SiteMinderapplication 120 supports a variety of authentication schemes includingbasic username/password authentication, HTML forms-based authentication,certificate-based authentication, token based authentication, NTLM (NTLan Manager), and/or combinations of them, as well as customauthentication schemes.

In addition to web agents 122, SiteMinder agents include affiliateagents (not shown) and application server agents (not shown). Where aweb agent 122 is integrated with a standard web server 104 and enablesthe SiteMinder application 120 to manage access to a web site and itscontent according to pre-defined security policies, an affiliate agentruns on the web server of an affiliate (such as a business partner), andprovides single sign-on and personalized content for users of theaffiliate site—creating a seamless experience for the user. Anapplication server agent is integrated with a J2EE application server tosecure Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) resources.

Agents are the enforcement mechanisms for policy-based authenticationand access control. By placing an agent 122 in a web server 104 that ishosting protected web content or applications, for example,administrators can coordinate security across a heterogeneousenvironment of systems and create a single sign-on environment for allusers. For web servers 104, the web agent 122 integrates through eachweb server's extension API. It intercepts all requests for resources(URLs) and determines whether each resource is protected by theSiteMinder application 120. If the resource is not SiteMinder-protected,the request is passed through to the web server 104 for regularprocessing. If it is SiteMinder-protected, the web agent 122 interactswith the policy server 127 to authenticate the user and to determine ifaccess to the specific resource is allowed. Depending on the policysetup, the web agent 122 may optionally also pass to the application(e.g., InfoVista application 110) a “response” that consists of theuser's entitlements information, that allows the application topersonalize the page content according to the needs and entitlements ofeach user. The web agent 122 caches extensive amounts of contextualinformation about the current user's access. The caching parameters thatcontrol these services are fully tunable by the administrator tooptimize performance and security.

In one SiteMinder scenario, users attempt to access a resource at aspecific URL via a browser 140 on a client 108. The SiteMinder web agent122 protects that URL and passes incoming requests for authenticationand authorization onto the policy server 127. The policy server 127completes the authentication process (via LDAP or RDBMS lookup) and canapply authorization rules based on administrator-defined securitypolicies in the policy server 127.

With regard to InfoVista 110 and SiteMinder 120, the present disclosureprovides solutions for the configuration and customization of the twoproducts to work together so that the InfoVista 110 and SiteMinder 120applications work as if they are one application to the customer.

Without integration, InfoVista's authentication method does not providethe benefits for SiteMinder like enforcement of password rules andreduction of operational costs. In order to use InfoVistaauthentication, a variance may have to be completed and approved by acorporation's management stating they would take the risk associatedwith the InfoVista authentication method. With SiteMinder, thecorporation's customers authenticate through the SiteMinder singlesign-on screen they are accustomed to with their corporate user-ID andpassword they use for every other application on the corporate networkusing the SiteMinder application 120. This also eliminates the need forapplication support to administer and reset passwords.

Accordingly, configuration procedures for integration of SiteMinder 120and InfoVista 110 are presented, for one embodiment. The SiteMinderapplication 120 is installed on the corporation's network 102 followingSiteMinder's documentation and instructions. In one implementation,among others, “Installing the SiteMinder V5 Agent” guide is followed. Asdocumented in the installation guide, a host 109 of the SiteMinderapplication 120 is registered with the SiteMinder application 120.

Since InfoVista application 110 may use a release of Apache software112, distributed by IBM corporation of Armonk, N.Y., that is older thanthe documented supported version, some manual configuration isimplemented, in one embodiment. The httpd.conf file in the“Apachehome”/conf directory has additional “LoadModule” statements addedabove the existing “LoadModule” statements. Here is a sample of theadditional statements:

-   -   LoadModule        sm_module/opt/InfoVista/SiteMinder/webagent/lib/libmod_sm20.so    -   LoadModule        sm_module/opt/InfoVista/SiteMinder/webagent/lib/mod_sm.so    -   SmInitFile/opt/InfoVista/apache2.0/conf/WebAgent.conf

The /apache/bin/envvars file is also updated with the informationdocumented in the “Installing and Configuring the Framework Agent forApache 2.0” guide, in one implementation, among others.

The security.properties InfoVista file is edited to accept the correctlogin strings for SiteMinder 120. FIG. 5 is an example of the SiteMinderresponse page 510 that is set up to match the$VistaPortalHome/site/WEB-INF/properties/security.properties file whichis shown in FIG. 6.

In the present example, the normal web address for access to InfoVistaapplication 110 is “http://host/VPortal” in one embodiment. When theapplication is configured to work with SiteMinder application 120, theweb address that is used is “http://host/VPortal/Connect.jsp”.

The user is added to the InfoVista application 110 as a user with thecorrect ID (identification) and password that is to be passed to theInfoVista application 110 from the SiteMinder application 120. To findproper customization, some trial and error may be involved.Authentication information in the properties file for InfoVistaapplication 110 is modified to match the information being sent from theSiteMinder application 120. With the SiteMinder application 120, it isalso customized and configured to pass the types of information neededby the InfoVista application 110. In one embodiment, the InfoVistaapplication 110 looks for an HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) headercredential. In that header, a login name and a password are sent that isneeded to access the InfoVista application 110. At this point, the usershould be able to log into InfoVista 110 through SiteMinder 120 and beprovided the appropriate web page.

In one embodiment, the InfoVista application 110 is set up to limitusers to view certain reports for network devices based on the ID usedto enter the application. Users can be placed in groups so that acertain group of users can use certain reports based on their ID that isused to log into the application 110.

SiteMinder 120 allows users to log in through its single sign-on tool125 and passes the credentials for the InfoVista application 110 in thepolicy server 127 to the InfoVista application 110 along with the properURL address. The InfoVista application 110 can access the credentialsthrough the HTTP header, and use the credentials for the applicationbecause the user has already been authenticated through the SiteMindersingle sign-on process.

In one embodiment, the InfoVista application 110 has its own log inprocess but it is being superseded with the SiteMinder SSO process. TheInfoVista authentication procedure may not have password measures torequire password to be periodically changed (“an aging process”) asdesired by a corporation's security policy. Accordingly, with the propercustomization of both tools in order to interoperate together and talkto each other in a proper way to work, integration of the SiteMinder 120and InfoVista 110 applications is possible.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a flowchart showing an embodiment, amongothers, of a method of integrating software applications is presented.

One embodiment of the method includes customizing (710) properties of anInfoVista application 110 to accept format of login strings provided bya SiteMinder application 120 and modifying (720) authenticationinformation in properties of InfoVista application 110 to matchauthentication information that is to be sent from the SiteMinderapplication 120. The method further includes customizing (730) theSiteMinder application 120 to pass authentication information needed bythe InfoVista application 110 for login of a user into the InfoVistaapplication 110 using a single sign-on interface provided by theSiteMinder application 120.

In some embodiments, the SiteMinder application 120 passesauthentication information to the InfoVista application 110 via a headerin an HTTP request. Also, in some embodiments, if a current version ofan HTTP server 104 is not supported by the InfoVista application 110,the method further comprises prompting a user to manually configureparameters of the InfoVista application 110 to support the currentversion of the HTTP server 104. Additionally, some embodiments allow forparticular versions of applications employed in the networkinfrastructure 102 to be customized or configured, such as InfoVistaVistaInsight for Networks version 1.2 or earlier, SiteMinder version 5or earlier, Apache® version 2.0 or earlier, etc. In some embodiments, asoftware module or script having computer-executable instructions forperforming one or more embodiments of the aforementioned method(s) (orsimilar constructs) may be executed by a client 108 or server 104, 106,109. For illustration purposes, modules 170, 180 on servers 104, 106 mayhave instructions for performing one or more of the aforementionedsteps.

Components of the present disclosure comprise an ordered listing ofexecutable instructions for implementing logical functions, can beembodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connectionwith an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as acomputer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system thatcan fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system,apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In the context ofthis document, a “computer-readable medium” can be any means that cancontain, store, communicate, or transport the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.The computer readable medium can be, for example but not limited to, anelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples (anonexhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium would include thefollowing: an electrical connection (electronic) having one or morewires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a random access memory(RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), anoptical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory(CDROM) (optical). In addition, the scope of the present disclosureincludes embodying the functionality of embodiments of the presentdisclosure in logic embodied in hardware or software-configured mediumsand components implementing such logic.

FIG. 8 shows one embodiment, among others, of a client-serverenvironment, such as the World Wide Web (the Web or web), in which thenetwork infrastructure may be facilitated. The architecture of the Webfollows a client-server model. The terms “client” and “server” are usedto refer to a computer's general role as a requester of data (theclient) or provider of data (the server). Web clients 805 and Web orHTTP servers 810 communicate using a protocol such as HyperText TransferProtocol (HTTP). In the Web environment, Web browsers reside on clientsand render Web documents (pages) served by the Web servers. Theclient-server model is used to communicate information between clients805 and servers 810. Web servers 810 are coupled to the network 830(e.g., Internet) and respond to document requests and/or other queriesfrom Web clients 805. When a user selects a document by submitting itsUniform Resource Locator (URL), a Web browser, such as Mozilla Firefox®,Netscape Navigator®, or Internet Explorer®, opens a connection to aserver 810 and initiates a request (e.g., an HTTP get) for the document.The server 810 delivers the requested document, typically in the form ofa text document coded in a standard markup language such as HyperTextMarkup Language (HTML).

Accordingly, FIG. 9 is a computer system 900 representing an exemplaryserver which may be utilized in the system of FIG. 9. Computer system900 comprises a bus or other communication means 910 for communicatinginformation, and a processing means such as processor 920 coupled withbus 910 for processing information. Computer system 900 furthercomprises a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device940 (referred to as main memory), coupled to bus 910 for storinginformation and instructions to be executed by processor 920. Mainmemory 940 also may be used for storing temporary variables or otherintermediate information during execution of instructions by processor920. Computer system 900 also comprises a read only memory (ROM) and/orother static storage device 960 coupled to bus 910 for storing staticinformation and instructions for processor 920.

A data storage device 970 such as a magnetic disk or optical disc andits corresponding drive may also be coupled to computer system 900 forstoring information and instructions. Computer system 900 can also becoupled via bus 910 to a display device 930, such as a cathode ray tube(CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD), for displaying information to acomputer user. Typically, an alphanumeric input device 950 (e.g., akeyboard), including alphanumeric and other keys, may be coupled to bus910 for communicating information and/or command selections to processor920. Another type of user input device is cursor control 980, such as amouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating directioninformation and command selections to processor 920 and for controllingcursor movement on display 950.

A communication device 990 is also coupled to bus 910 for accessingremote servers via a network, such as the Internet, for example. Thecommunication device 990 may include a modem, a network interface card,or other commercially available network interface devices, such as thoseused for coupling to an Ethernet, token ring, or other type of network.In any event, in this manner, the computer system 900 may be coupled toa number of clients and/or other servers via a conventional networkinfrastructure, such as a company's Intranet and/or the Internet, forexample.

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments could include, but do not require, certain features,elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generallyintended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any wayrequired for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodimentsnecessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input orprompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included orare to be performed in any particular embodiment.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merelypossible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clearunderstanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations andmodifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) withoutdeparting substantially from the spirit and principles of thedisclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to beincluded herein within the scope of this disclosure.

Further, teachings of the present disclosure may be extended to othersoftware applications having similar integration problems.

1. A method of integrating software applications comprising: customizing properties of an INFOVISTA application to accept format of login strings provided by a SITEMINDER application; modifying authentication information in properties of the INFOVISTA application to match authentication information that is to be sent from the SiteMinder application; and customizing a SITEMINDER application to pass authentication information needed by the INFOVISTA application for login of a user into the INFOVISTA application using a single sign-on interface provided by the SITEMINDER application.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication information is passed to the INFOVISTA application from the SITEMINDER application via a header in an HTTP request.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein if a current version of an HTTP server is not supported by the INFOVISTA application, the method further comprises prompting a user to manually configure parameters of the INFOVISTA application to support the current version of the HTTP server.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the INFOVISTA application comprises VistaInsight for Networks version 1.2 or earlier.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the SITEMINDER application comprises SITEMINDER version 5 or earlier.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the HTTP server comprises Apache version 2.0 or earlier.
 7. A computer readable medium having a program for integrating software applications, the program comprising: customizing properties of INFOVISTA application to accept a format of login strings provided by a SITEMINDER application; modifying authentication information in properties of an INFOVISTA application to match authentication information that is to be sent from the SITEMINDER application; and customizing the SITEMINDER application to pass authentication information needed by the INFOVISTA application for login of a user into the INFOVISTA application using a single sign-on interface provided by the SITEMINDER application.
 8. The computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein the authentication information is passed to the INFOVISTA application from the SITEMINDER application via a header in an HTTP request.
 9. The computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein if a current version of an HTTP server is not supported by the INFOVISTA application, the method further comprises prompting a user to manually configure parameters of the INFOVISTA application to support the current version of the HTTP server.
 10. The computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein the INFOVISTA application comprises VistaInsight for Networks version 1.2 or earlier.
 11. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the SITEMINDER application comprises SITEMINDER version 5 or earlier.
 12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the HTTP server comprises Apache version 2.0 or earlier.
 13. A system for integrating software applications comprising: a first component configured to customize properties of an INFOVISTA application to accept a format of login strings provided by a SITEMINDER application; a second component configured to modify authentication information in properties of the INFOVISTA application to match authentication information that is to be sent from the SITEMINDER application; and a third component configured to customize the SITEMINDER application to pass authentication information needed by the INFOVISTA application for login of a user into the INFOVISTA application using a single sign-on interface provided by the SITEMINDER application.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the authentication information is passed to the INFOVISTA application from the SITEMINDER application via a header in an HTTP request, the system further comprising: a server hosting the INFOVISTA application.
 15. The system of claim 13, further comprising: an HTTP server, wherein if a current version of the HTTP server is not supported by the INFOVISTA application, parameters of the INFOVISTA application are manually configured to support the current version of the HTTP server.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein the INFOVISTA application comprises VistaInsight for Networks version 1.2 or earlier.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the SITEMINDER application comprises SITEMINDER version 5 or earlier.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the HTTP server comprises Apache version 2.0 or earlier.
 19. The system of claim 13, wherein the SITEMINDER application comprises a suite of components designed to work together and capable of being installed on separate servers.
 20. The system of claim 13, the first component further configured to prompt a user to manually configure parameters of the INFOVISTA application to support the current version of the HTTP server. 